Denial of Human Rights: We Must Change the Paradigm of Dementia Care

In far too many instances treatment of persons with dementia has reflected a fundamental denial of basic human rights. At times, these individuals are treated worse than the treatment of animals when the five basic freedoms of animals, described by Pachana in her editorial, are implemented. A number of such examples of dehumanizing (and “de-animalizing”) persons with dementia are presented. A case is made for the position that this is the direct result of the “medicalization” of dementia and “Alzheimer Disease.” This has led to the disenfranchisement of persons with dementia and their caregivers regarding the treatment of dementia, while medical “expertise” has led to a paradigm of learned helplessness while waiting for “the cure.” While the medicalization of dementia has been a financial success in terms of funding failed researcher to find a cure, it has been a catastrophe for the quality of life of persons with dementia and their caregivers. It is time to take control of the treatment of dementia back, and especially to listen to the voices of persons with dementia. It is time to take action NOW – to become disruptive to the current paradigm. The emperor and his cure have no clothes. We deserve better. We must make this change in paradigm our mission, to demand it, and to accept nothing less. Power to the people.     

Developing a Brief Neuropsychological Battery for Early Diagnosis of Cognitive Impairment

ObjectivesEarly diagnosis of cognitive impairment is increasingly emphasized in the literature to facilitate timely preventive interventions. Although bedside cognitive tests such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used for such early diagnostic purposes, they may not have comparable performance to a full neuropsychological battery (FNB) in diagnosing early cognitive impairment. This study investigated whether a small subset of neuropsychological tests can be added on to MoCA to match its performance to that of the FNB in discriminating mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI/dementia) from normal cognition.DesignCross-sectional diagnostic study.SettingAlzheimer's Disease Centers across the United States.ParticipantsOlder participants (≥50 years) who completed MoCA and the FNB (N = 9187).MeasuresThe study sample was split into two: the derivation sample (n = 1837) was used to develop a brief neuropsychological battery that best discriminated MCI/dementia (using the best-subset approach with 10-fold cross-validation); while the validation sample (n = 7350) verified its actual performance in discriminating MCI/dementia.ResultsA 3-item neuropsychological battery was identified, comprising MoCA, Benson Complex Figure Recall, and Craft Story 21 Delayed Recall. It had excellent performance in discriminating MCI/dementia from normal cognition (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] 90.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 89.2%-90.7%), which was comparable to that of the FNB (AUROC 88.4%, 95% CI 87.6%-89.2%). By contrast, MoCA alone had significantly worse AUROC (86.9%, 95% CI 86.0%-87.7%) than that of the FNB.Conclusions/ImplicationsUsing rigorous methods, this study developed a brief neuropsychological battery that maintained the brevity of a bedside cognitive test, while rivaling the diagnostic performance of an FNB in early cognitive impairment. This brief battery offers a viable alternative when the FNB is needed but cannot be feasibly administered in nonspecialty clinics. It can have a wider health systems effect of improving patients’ access to accurate diagnosis in early cognitive impairment and facilitating timely interventions to delay the progression of cognitive impairment.     

Influence of SNPs in cytokine-related genes on the severity of food allergy and atopic eczema in children

Although many single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) studies have reported an association of atopy, allergic diseases and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, almost all of these studies sought risk factors for the onset of these allergic diseases. Furthermore, many studies have analyzed a single gene and hardly any have analyzed environmental factors. In these analyses, the results could be masked and the effects of other genes and environmental factors may be decreased. Here, we described the correlation between four genes [interleukin (IL)-4 (C-590T), IL-4 receptor (A1652G), FCER1B (G6842A) and STAT6 (G2964A)] in connection with IgE production; the role of IL-10 (C-627A) as a regulatory cytokine of allergy; and the severity of food allergy (FA) and atopic eczema (AE) in 220 Japanese allergic children. In addition to these SNPs, environmental factors, i.e., patient's attitude, indoor environment, and so on, were also investigated in this study. Our study was retrospective, and the correlation was analyzed by our defined clinical scores divided into three terms: worst symptoms, recent symptoms and general amelioration at the most recent examination during the disease course. Our results indicated that IL-10 AA, the genotype with lower IL-10 production, is associated with higher IgE levels in the serum (p < 0.0001, estimate; 0.912). Marginal liver abnormalities were observed in the subject group with both FA and AE (p < 0.1191, estimate; 0.1490). Our defined clinical scores enabled evaluation of various aspects of disease severity. Based on the scores, while no single SNP selected in this study determined severity, the combination of the SNP with laboratory data and environmental factors appeared to determine severity.     

颈前入路相关结构三维可视化研究

目的：建立颈前入路相关结构的三维可视化模型。方法：选取首例中国数字化可视人体数据集中第3颈椎上缘至第7颈椎下缘的连续薄层断面图像。运用3D—DOCTOR软件，在计算机上分割重建该手术入路相关的解剖结构并立体显示。结果：成功重建并立体显示第3～7颈椎、椎间盘、脊髓、颈神经、椎动脉、颈长肌、喉（气管）、咽（食管）、颈总动脉（颈内、外动脉）、颈内静脉、迷走神经和胸锁乳突肌等解剖结构的位置关系，建立了颈前入路相关结构的三维可视化模型。结论：在颈部三维可视化模型基础上，参照颈前入路手术步骤可逐层显示该手术相关的重要结构．为该手术的术前训练和模拟提供形态学依据。     

携载rhBMP-2微球的新型可注射自凝固复合人工骨的制备及特性研究

[目的]制备一种具有良好降解性和成骨活性、可注射的自凝固新型骨修复材料。[方法]制备携载rhBMP-2的聚乳酸与聚乙醇酸共聚物（PLGA）微球，并将其与rhBMP-2／磷酸钙骨水泥（CPC）复合，制备出rhBMP-2／PLGA微球／CPC复合人工骨。探讨了材料的特性，包括形貌、固化时间、抗压强度及反映材料体外降解速度的指标一体外降解液Ca、P浓度变化，测定复合材料rhBMP乏的释药速度及体外诱导MSCs细胞成骨分化的能力。[结果]与单纯CPC-rhBMP-2相比，复合材料的固化时间少量增加，抗压强度下降明显。体外降解速度及体外释药明显提高，释放的rhBMP-2具有骨诱导活性。[结论]rhBMP-2／PLGA微球／磷酸钙骨水泥新型复合人工骨是具有良好应用前景的骨修复材料。     

Ex vivo identification of atherosclerotic plaque calcification by a 31P solid-state magnetic resonance imaging technique.

Calcified tissue is a common component of atherosclerotic plaques, and occurs most often in mature plaques. The process of calcification is a poorly understood risk factor that may contribute to a plaque's vulnerability to sudden rupture. In this study a solid-state imaging sequence, termed single-point imaging (SPI), was used to observe calcification directly in ex vivo atherosclerotic plaques. Standards were used to validate the ability of (31)P SPI to detect and differentiate calcification from crystalline cholesterol, phospholipids, and other plaque components. After suitable experimental parameters were found, human carotid specimens obtained by endarterectomy were imaged ex vivo by (31)P solid-state imaging and standard (1)H methods. In contrast to (1)H imaging methods, (31)P imaging detected only the calcification in the plaque.     

IL-1Ra和IL-10真核表达质粒载体的构建及其表达检测

目的:构建人IL-1Ra和人IL-10真核表达质粒载体并检测其表达。方法:用双酶切方法切取PCDI-IL-1Ra和PCDI-IL-10质粒中包含人IL-1Ra和人IL-10 CDS全长序列的cD-NA片段,并分别连接到真核表达质粒pcDNA3.1上,然后用壳聚糖转染上述质粒到原代软骨细胞,RT-PCR检测其mRNA水平的表达。结果:成功将人IL-1Ra和IL-10 CDS全长序列的cDNA片段克隆到真核表达载体,mRNA水平检测到目的基因的表达明显提高。结论:真核表达质粒可以用于外源基因的原代软骨细胞导入和表达,为进一步的基因治疗研究提供依据。     

CD10表达在甲状腺滤泡性癌和滤泡型乳头状癌诊断中的作用

目的研究CD10表达在甲状腺滤泡性癌和滤泡型乳头状癌诊断中的作用。方法收集70例甲状腺良、恶性病变组织，其中包括15例滤泡性腺瘤、15例腺瘤性甲状腺肿、30例乳头状癌（包括9例滤泡型乳头状癌）和10例滤泡性癌，采用免疫组织化学方法检测CD10在上述组织中的表达。结果9例滤泡型乳头状癌中，7例表达CD10（77．8％），10例滤泡性癌中8例表达CD10（80．0％）；CD10在非滤泡型乳头状癌、滤泡性腺瘤、腺瘤性甲状腺肿和正常甲状腺组织中均不表达。结论对CD10表达的检测有助于对甲状腺滤泡性癌和滤泡型乳头状癌的诊断。